It is a very tough language for non-Balinese to master, and bears no resemblance to Bahasa Indonesia.

It is generally not necessarily for travellers to learn Balinese, as nearly every Balinese speaker speaks Indonesian as well, and many are even reasonably competent in English. Nevertheless, attempting to speak their language will almost certainly please the locals.

The language has three main registers depending on the status of those speaking:

low (basa ketah)

middle (basa madia)

high (basa singgih)

This phrasebook will cover the low register only as that is the language spoken by the vast majority of Balinese, and the only one likely to be encountered by visitors.